Airbus A330P2F gets new lease of life with Altavair

In her days as a factory-build aircraft, the Airbus A330 Freighter was never a success. But there seems a bright future for the type in the future as passenger to freighter (P2F) cargo planes. Elbe Flugzeugwerke in Dresden delivered the first A330-200P2F ordered by lessor Altavair on January 20 for onward lease to MasAir Cargo. Airbus A330P2F gets new lease of life with Altavair.

Altavair has ‘several’ A330-200P2Fs and -300P2Fs on order with EFW, which is a joint venture with ST Aerospace and is fully backed by Airbus. The lessor has a portfolio of six -200s and eleven -300s that are eligible for conversions.

MasAir Cargo plans to build up a fleet of the two P2F-versions, becoming the first airline to operate both of them. It thinks that the -200P2F with its 570 cubic meters volume is best suitable for express carriers that require high volumetric capacity, while the longer -300P2F with 669m3 will be the better option for higher-density freight on long distances. EFW says that the -200P2F has lower costs per ton than other freighters. The airline also operates the Boeing

767-200F and -300F, plus the -300BDSF version, which is the one converted by IAI Aerospace.